Alberta colleges, universities reel under grant cuts

Post-secondary institutions in Canada’s Alberta province are being pushed to admit more students and charge higher tuition fees, with Bow Valley College in Calgary and Edmonton's MacEwan University being the hit hardest by cuts to provincial operating grants announced in the budget on Thursday 24 October, writes Michelle Bellefontaine for CBC News.

Advanced Education is cutting the overall grant programme by 5%. That translates into cuts to grants ranging up to 7.9%. The Alberta government wants post-secondary institutions to rely less on government grants and collect more in tuition income by raising fees and admitting more students, and by finding alternative funding sources.

Grants to Alberta’s two largest universities – Alberta and Calgary – were reduced by 6.9%, while MacEwan and Bow Valley College each face a 7.9% cut. In a written statement, McEwan University said action will have to be taken immediately as the CA$9.1 million (US$6.9 million) reduction is retroactive to 1 April 2019. “This is one of the largest in-year cuts in our institution's history,” MacEwan said in a written statement. “The reduction in our grant presents a significant challenge for the university, and there will be implications across the institution.”
Full report on the CBC site